Realtors: Condo market 'self-corrected' in June

by
Vernon Clement Jones |
06 Jul 2012

First-time buyers in Canada’s largest market had already begun to cool their jets before the government announced mortgage rule changes specifically meant to accomplish the same, according to new stats.

magazine.ca/components/com_jce/editor/tiny_mce/plugins/article/img/trans.gif" title="Read More" />Released Thursday, the condo numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board point to a sales decline of 18 per cent in June compared to the year-ago period. It’s the single largest drop, with that segment of the market registering a gain of five per cent in May.

The bulk of that slowdown – what Realtors are calling the market’s self-correction – came before Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stepped to the podium to announce the fourth round of mortgage rule changes on June 21.

Then, he cited the T.O. condo market as a chief reason for changes mortgage brokers have largely labeled “unnecessary.”

"In Toronto in particular, what I’ve observed and heard about from developers is continuous building without restriction," Flaherty said. "It’s distorting the market, quite frankly. And for that reason, we’re taking the steps we’re taking."

Brokers are concerned the decision has effectively applied the brakes to a segment of the economy responsible for sustaining Canada’s footing while other nations continued to slip in and out of recession.

New jobs numbers suggest any further cooling in the housing market will, indeed, challenge already-reduced expectations for economic growth in 2012.

Canada generated just 7,300 net new jobs last month, down from the 7,700 in May, according to Statistics Canada data released on Friday.

The growth is considered negligible, says StatsCan, given it lies well within the survey’s margin of error.